With the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) now in place, wrestling control over payment, cash flow and costs is vital for the health of your business.

The pressure is already enormous to deliver the same services for less funding.

The last thing disability service providers need is even more pressure on finances because inflexible, outdated, or manual systems just can’t cope.

With the NDIS rollout, the costs and dangers of inadequate systems have multiplied.

Here are three serious risks every provider needs to consider:

1.Payment changes cause cash flow nightmares

This one’s the most obvious and immediate…

The NDIS rollout has meant a shift in the way payment and purchasing is conducted. With the decision-making power now in the hands of participants, you are no longer able to get funding upfront, and instead must deliver the service before payment.

Unfortunately, most affected service providers I encounter simply don’t have the technology to support this change.

The industry average of an agonising 41 days for payment—largely due to inefficient or manual processes—may have been a difficulty under the old payment regime. Under the new one—with payment delayed until after service delivery—the cash flow slow-down could sink your business.

Compare that to the 5-7 day payment you can achieve with integrated systems that automatically provide NDIS aligned outputs and activity-based auditability. Getting your systems up to scratch can help you overcome looming cash flow problems and keep your business ticking over.

The NDIS-related shift in payment model has caused cash flow problems for many businesses

2.Inefficiencies incur excessive administration costs

This is already a problem for disability service providers. And it’s only going to get worse.

According to our research, administration costs for NDIS providers are running at astronomical levels – between 32-48% of revenue.

A large portion of this stems from manual, labour-intensive and archaic paper-based processes. These were already burdensome before the NDIS rollout. Now they risk becoming truly unmanageable and unsustainable.

If you’d like to see how CTARS automates processes and slashes admin time and costs, book a demo here.

Paper-based and non-automated systems ultimately incur excessive administration costs because they are slow and labour intensive

3.Lack of visibility incurs further (often hidden) costs

These are costs that are harder to measure – but perhaps even more insidious.

An outdated, un-automated system doesn’t give you visibility over participants or carers, nor allows for easy access and sharing of information.

The result: many providers expend an inordinate amount of time and angst trying to wrestle information out of disparate systems – move information between carers through cumbersome (and insecure) processes – and fix the inevitable mistakes that occur. This is cost – and stress – that your organisation just doesn’t need.

Given the sensitivities of the sector and the participants who count on you – systemising these processes isn’t just a cost-savings move. It’s a best practice imperative.

If you’d like to see how information can be accessed and shared easily within a secure, cloud-based system like CTARS, click here to book a demo.

Author bio:

Brendan Fahey is the CEO and founder of CTARS. He has a long history in providing innovative solutions to the industry. Brendan’s significant industry knowledge has guided the development of CTARS software at every stage to meet operational needs.